Festival of Frugality: Cheapest Man Alive Edition

It's time once again for the Festival of Frugality, a place where all good articles discussing the frugal life come together to party. I thought I would dedicate this festival to the newly crowned cheapest man alive, Edward Wedbush, founder and president of Wedbush, Inc. He's worth over $100 million!

Welcome to the Festival of Frugality!

Edward has been making the news recently. Not for his business successes, but for his extreme frugality. It's the classic example of frugality turned cheapness. The roof of one of his homes in L.A. has been in need of repair for quite some time. His neighbors have had enough of his run down roof, which he has been covering with several blue tarps (ideal for local real estate prices). They complained to the City who is subsequently suing him. The water damage from the roof has created a mold problem in the house and Edward's health has “suffered”.

The 78 year old Wedbush was deemed one of the most admired CEOs by the L.A. Times. It was once said of him that although he doesn't have a lavish lifestyle, he could afford it. He “brings his lunch from home and drives a 1992 Lincoln Town Car.” I like Edward up until the point he's letting his cheapness get the best of them. What do you think?

Now let's head of to the festival to see what the past two weeks of frugality writings has produced (my favorites are in bold):

Christmas and Holiday Leftovers

Think Your Way to Wealth presents 5 Ways to Deal with Unwanted Christmas Gifts. Wondering what to do with that ugly sweater your aunt got you? Check out these tips. I'm thinking craigslist would probably be a good solution. The trick is how do you clue them in next year not to get you anything. Or better yet, give you a gift card. Does that make me a bit of a scrooge?

Frugal For Life presents A 2 in 1 New Year's Resolution. Money and health: a match made in heaven. If you're going to try and tackle one this year, it's not a stretch to take on the other while you are at it. What are your new year's resolutions?

Personal Finance By The Book presents Rethinking Our Family Christmas Gift Exchange. I prefer the secret Santa or the gifts for the kids only route. We did the later for one side of our family this year and it worked out great. It ended up still being a boat load of gifts and the adults got to enjoy the smiles on the kids faces.

The Sun's Financial Diary presents Great Gifts without Great Costs. Take note of this one for next year. But really these are some very unique ideas for any time of the year.

Networth Journey presents What Does That Gift Really Cost. This is a great breakdown of the rules involved with the gift tax. Did you know there is a tax on the money you give to another person? Kinda stinks doesn't it? Don't worry, several thousand dollars are exempt from the tax. My question is how do they enforce this?

Frugal Home and Family

Wise Bread presents 7 Ways to Get Warm on the Cheap. Time to bundle up with more clothes, I know that's step one. Read this post to find out more ways to pay less this Winter.

Northern Cheapskate presents Hosting a Gathering on a Budget. I rarely have someone over to spend money on. But if you do this kind of thing often, there's no sense in spending money that you don't have to. Party for less.

MoneyNing presents OMG Kids Are So Expensive!. If you go by the stats, they are. I've found our little one to be pretty economical though. She's already practicing her parents frugal ways.

Funny about Money presents God’s Free Carwash. Here's a really frugal idea. Click though to see how this free car wash takes place. I bet the cheapest man alive washes his 92 Lincoln by himself.

Sea Of Savings presents Make your own Carpet Deodorizer. Clean, green, and frugal. Smells like a good idea.

Free From Broke presents The Greatest Impact On My Finances And My Best Financial Tool. How many points do you think FFB scored with this post? Good work, my friend. No seriously, it's great to have a mate that is on board with improving the finances. It's always good to celebrate (aka encourage) that behavior. They're called our better halves for a reason.

Provident Planning presents Is Renting Throwing Away Money? Personal finance is personal. Do your own analysis and determine which type of real estate decision is best for you. Think renting is just wasting money?

Frugal Shopping

Spruce Up Your Finances presents Why I Buy Tires At Costco. A well laid out case for buying your tires at this discount warehouse. The best part is that you get to actually do something while you are waiting on tire repairs.

Personal Cents presents Saving Money at the Grocery Store. One of the biggest expenses in the monthly budget is often food. When you can maximize savings in this area you'll be saving a lot. Includes some unique ideas.

Wisdom From Wenchypoo's Mental Wastebasket presents An Example of How Futile Savings Efforts Are Using Coupons vs. Cost Per Unit. If buying bulk makes sense for the item you are buying, then by all means go for it. Bulk will usually beat coupons for smaller items. Check out this post for more on the real-life analysis.

My Wealth Builder presents Athletic Shoe Usage Cycle. A good technique for getting the most from your old running shoes. I make the mistake of wearing my running shoes too much around town. Not good if I wanted to keep them in top shape for running longer.

Christian Personal Finance presents Netflix for Books?. Would you ever rent books through the mail, like you do with movies and Netflix? Check out this post to see the cost of such a service.

More Frugal Posts

50 Plus Finance presents How To Go To Medical School For Free. “Can we get a doctor?” He needs to pick up his free education! This is a very cool list of ways to go to medical school for free.

Mighty Bargain Hunter presents Sharing is Saving. Can't we all just get along? …and use each other's stuff? Great ideas here about getting the most out of our stuff. Hey, that's what's at the heart of the frugal movement.

Squirrelers presents 5 Ways to Save Money at Airports. In the airport you are trapped in a time warp of high margin items it seems. Here are some tips to help you through this tempting time.

FIRE Finance presents Personal Loans – How to Borrow Money Responsibly?. Part of living frugal is being smart about how we take on debt. I think a personal loan is a good solution for someone that is already in the process of debt reduction. It should never be used to continue a life lived above one's means.

Thanks to all who participated. Please link back within a week or two. Make sure you submit to the next edition as well.

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Last Edited: July 24, 2017 @ 1:24 pmThe content of ptmoney.com is for general information purposes only and does not constitute professional advice. Visitors to ptmoney.com should not act upon the content or information without first seeking appropriate professional advice. In accordance with the latest FTC guidelines, we declare that we have a financial relationship with every company mentioned on this site.

About Philip Taylor

Philip Taylor, aka "PT", is a CPA, financial writer, podcaster, FinCon Founder, husband, and father of three. He created PT Money back in 2007 to share his thoughts on money and to meet others passionate about managing their finances. All the content on this blog is original, and created or edited by PT. Read more about Philip Taylor, and be sure to connect with him on Twitter, Facebook, or Google+. Listen to the new podcast, Masters of Money!

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Comments

Nothing wrong with extreme frugality, as long as you understand you’re not taking anything with you when you go. I would have a lot more respect for the guy if he was living below his means and giving away the money he saves to people in need instead of hoarding it in off-shore bank accounts.

Thanks for hosting and including my article, PT. It sounds to me like Mr. Wedbush’s frugality has gone a little too far. No sense in putting off roof repairs if it causes a mold problem that affects your health. Penny wise and pound foolish…

I’d like to think that if I’m ever lucky enough to become wealthy my habits won’t change too drastically. I’d probably drive the same old car and bring lunch to work because I like doing those things. I just might be more likely to travel to Africa on safari or something.

About PT

Hi, I'm Philip Taylor. I'm a husband, father, blogger, CPA, and entrepreneur. I love learning to do more with my money and sharing it all here with you. Join in on the conversation and start improving your financial life today. Read more...

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The content of ptmoney.com is for general information purposes only and does not constitute professional advice. Visitors to ptmoney.com should not act upon the content or information without first seeking appropriate professional advice.